File for removably supporting a plurality of reeled tapes



June 6, 1967 R. G. CLOUTHIER FILE FOR REMOVABLY SUPPORTING A PLURALITY OF REELED TAPES .2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 5-, 1965 F5 61? Rober G. ClowHwiew INVENTOR.

oi mg /rA/ ATTORNEY June 6, 1967 R. G. CLOUTHIER 3,323,847

FILE FOR REMOVABLY SUPPORTING A PLURALITY OF REELED TAPES Filed March 5, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Roberi Ga. Clouth'ier BY 6 a r A ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,323,847 FILE FOR REMOVABLY SUPPORTING A PLURALITY 9F REELED TAPES Robert G. Clouthier, 421 Bollard St, Holden, Mass. 01520 Filed Mar. 5, 1965, Ser. No. 437,501 8 Claims. (Cl. 312-20) This invention relates to a file for securely but removably supporting a plurality of reeled tapes vertically.

Electromagnetic tapes used for data processing, as well as photographic and micro-films, herein designated tapes, are each usually reeled on a carrier comprising an inner cylindrical core between spaced parallel flanges. Large numbers of such tapes on their carriers need to be stored in cabinets or rooms in a readily accessible and indexed arrangement; but many problems are involved in the storage and selective removal of a desired tape for required processing purposes. Tape reels have been stored on shelves between vertical wire spacers, but space is wasted and the reels are not secured in place and may be accidentally dislodged. The space requirements and the security of storage in a carefully indexed arrangement are critical, where it is required to store thousands of tapes in position for ready selective removal.

A primary object of this invention is to provide apparatus for suspending tape carriers vertically on a wall in a readily accessible and removable condition, and wherein the carriers are removably interlocked with and suspended from supports on the wall in a close lateral arrangement.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vertical Wall with spaced supports, each of which has a plurality of hangers, and to provide an associated reeled tape carrier with a hanger cooperatively interlocking with the wall hanger and so arranged that the tape carriers may be suspended vertically on said supports in a close horizontal and vertical spacing and removed by a slight upward lifting motion. Other objects will be made ap parent in the following disclosure.

A reeled tape may be wound on a spool-like core between side flanges forming a carrier which may be further mounted in a supplemental carrier of a generally disk shape. The latter usually comprises a two-part casing formed of two side plates, each of which is attached to a peripheral flange and so arranged that the flanges may be telescopically interfitted to enclose and protect the tape.

According to one aspect of this invention, I propose to suspend the reeled tape carrier from a vertical wall by means of a two-part hanger, one of which parts is selected from a multiplicity of spaced and symmetrically v arranged hanger members on the wall, and the other part comprises a hanger member interlocking with the wall hanger member which is adjacent to and preferably projects from the periphery of the tape carrier. In the preferred construction, the wall hanger member comprises a slot in the wall and preferably in a strengthening support carried by and spaced in front of the wall. The hanger member on the carrier preferably comprises a part projecting radially from a peripheral wall of the carrier which is shaped to interlock with a selected wall slot and be suspended from the wall support and which "ice Referring to the drawings illustrating preferred embodiments of the invention:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the rear wall of a cabinet or compartment, showing a plurality of reeled tape carriers removably mounted on hanger members on that wall;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary vertical front elevation of the cabinet of FIG. 1 with the door omitted;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of two telescoping casing members forming a carrier and showing the hanger member of FIG. 5 mounted on the outer flange of the carrier casing;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the casing and hanger member of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a clip provided with a hanger member;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of a horizontal wall support plate having a slot shaped to interlock with the hanger member of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a modification showing a corrugated wall provided with hanger slots;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view, partly broken away of an outer tape carrier having a hanger member carried by a band surrounding the carrier;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sect-ion showing the hanger and band of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of a further modification having a U-shaped hanger clip movably attached to the inner carrier; and

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view of the reel flanges of FIG. 10 and a dust protector closure therefor.

In accordance with this invention, I have provided a reeled tape file (FIGS. 1-6) comprising a vertical wall 10, which may be a back wall of a room or a file cabinet 11. This wall 10 is suitably strengthened to withstand the weight of a large number of reeled tape carriers, which may be accomplished by corrugating the wall either vertically or horizontally, as shown in FIG. 7; but this is preferably accomplished by welding or otherwise securing thereto a plurality of supports mounted horizontally. These supports are shown as horizontal angle irons or bars 12 which may be provided with aligned flanges 13. These flanges 13 are welded horizontally to the rear wall 10 of the cabinet in a spacing slightly greater than the vertical height of a carrier to be suspended therefrom. The supports may be arranged vertically if desired.

A reeled tape carrier, as shown in FIG. 3, may comprise a molded plastic body having a cylindrical core 14 secured to side flanges 15 between which the tape 16 is wound. This spool or reel 14, 15 may be enclosed in a supplemental carrier formed of a molded plastic body having two disk shaped plates 17 and 18 which carry laterally projecting cylindrical flanges 19 and 20 shaped to telescope slidably and thereby form a casing around the reeled tape that has been wound on the core 14. These standard casing parts are suitably locked together. The outer flange is a peripheral strip surrounding the inner tape reel and'which, in the construction of FIG. 3, carries a hanger member projecting therefrom as will be explained.

In accordance with this invention, I provide the carrier with a hanger member adjacent to or projecting outwardly or radially from the periphery of the reeled tape carrier, which is arranged to interlock with a hanger member on the wall 10 or one of the supports 12 These hanger members preferably comprise a hook-like member or lug interlocking with an eyelet or the sides of an opening, which are respectively located on either the wall supports 12 or the tape carrier. The preferred construction is one where the eyelet is formed in the casing wall and s0 located and shaped that a hook-like member on the carrier may be inserted and interlocked therewith.

The construction of FIG. 3 comprises a hanger member on the carrier formed of a lug 24 having an enlarged head 25, and the eyelet or eyehole is located in the wall 10, which is shown as a somewhat T-shaped opening or slot in the angle iron support 12. This slot has a narrow lower portion 26 (FIG. 6) slightly larger than the thickness or diameter of the cylindrical lug 24. This slot portion 26 is in the lower depending portion of the V-shaped angle iron 12 that has been mounted as shown in FIG. 6. The upper portion 27 of the T-shaped slot is located in the top part of the angle iron 12 and is so sized that the head 25 of the carrier hanger member (FIG. may be inserted into the slot, whereupon the weight of the carrier will cause the parts 24 and 25 to interlock with the sides of the lower potrion 26 of the T-slot. The lug 24 is arranged to project substantially radially from the periphery of the carrier (FIGS. 1 and 2) in such a manner as to hold the carrier in a substantially vertical position.

Of the various constructions which will serve to hold the hanger member of the carrier in that peripheral arrangement, I prefer the construction illustrated primarily in FIGS. 3 and 5 wherein the lug 24 is secured laterally to a U-shaped clip 30 having two flanges 31 which are spaced and shaped to slidably interfit with the outer peripheral flange 20 of the carrier as shown in FIG. 3, and thus secure the hanger to the carrier, so that when the enlarged head 25 has been properly inserted into the slot of the wall support 12 the carrier will be held firmly in a vertical position. As shown at the top of FIG. 2, the T-slots are preferably arranged horizontally in the angle iron 12 which provides for a close spacing of the reeled tape carriers. The slots may be located in the front portions of the corrugations of the wall shown in FIG. 7. As shown, a plurality of these horizontal supports 12 are so mounted on the cabinet wall 10 that the carriers are held in a close vertical and horizontal spacing. The cabniet is, of course, so sized that the carriers may be fully enclosed therein. This construction is such that the angle iron 12 may be suitably mounted in a standard file casing which is sized and shaped to hold and protect the reeled tapes and their carriers. Also, it will be appreciated that each outwardly projecting horizontal corrugation of the FIG. 7 structure is a support which provides space for the hanger head to lie at the rear of the wall. If the corrugation is vertical, the forwardly projecting curved portions will be made with slots 26, 27 in a required vertical spacing, and this provides space for the hanger heads 25 at the rear of the wall 10 In the carrier of FIG. 3, a sealing strip 33 is located on the inside of plate 17 of the outer carrier to keep out dust, and the flange may be slightly recessed to accommodate the clip 30, if necessary.

In the construction of FIGURES 8 and 9, I have shown another manner of attaching a hanger peripherally to the carrier. That is, the hanger is carried by a separate band or strip encircling the carrier. The band 40 may be an endless strip of suitable plastic which may have two ends removably connected, if desired, but is here shown as an endless circular strip 42 which may be slid snugly onto the flange 20 (FIG. 9). The hanger of FIG. 5 may be attached to that strip, but I have shown a modified form of hanger which comprises a plastic or metal strip slightly arcuate in shape to fit on the outer periphery of the carrier. This member has two slots 44 near its ends which may open on the same side of the strip or on opposite sides. These slots are so shaped and arranged that the strip 40 may be interwoven therewith, as shown in FIG. 8, and thus will hold the strip tightly in position when mounted on the periphery of the carrier. The member 42 has an upstanding locking head 45, corresponding with the head of FIG. 5, which connects by a reduced section 47 with the main strip 42. If the part 42 is made of metal, this may be readily accomplished by stamping out the hanger portion 46, 47 and bending the narrower portion 47 to a position radial of the carrier as shown.

It will be appreciated that the hanger portion 45, 47 may be inserted into the slot 26, 27 of the V-shaped bar of FIG. 6 or the corrugated wall of FIG. 7 and that the head 46 will interlock with the sides of the narrow portion of that slot. It will also be observed, by reference to FIG. 1, that the carrier has What may be called a twopoint support, in that it is suspended from the slotted wall 10 and hangs in contact with the wall, hence the carrier is held immovable and secure in its required position. The carrier and the cabinet may be marked with similar identifying numbers to insure that each carrier is filed according to a desired index location.

The inner carrier comprising the core 14 and reel flanges 15 may be suspended from the wall hanger in:

dependently of any outer casing by the construction shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. A standard tape reel has a central recess or hole therethrough. The hanger member comprises a U-shaped clip 50 of suitable resilient mate rial, such as metal or a plastic, which is so shaped that the clip may be sprung into position over the flanges 15 of the reel where its two inturned ends 52 interlock with the central hole or a recess in the reel. If the reel flanges are provided with an annular groove or recess adjacent to the core, then the arms of the clip 50 may :be of suitable length to interfit into that groove or the inside hole of the reel. This clip 50 may be provided with an upturned stamped out portion comprising the inner narrow lug 54 and the head 55, as shown, which are shaped to interfit, as above explained, with anyof the slots 26, 27. This hanger clip may be thus readily assembled on a reel for supporting it on the cabinet wall, and when the tape reel is to be used in a processing step the clip may be removed. To keep dust out of the reel and otherwise protect the tape, a flexible band 56 (FIG. 11) made of rubber or other suitable material may be sprung into place on and between the plates 15 of the reel. This band 56 as shown may have a somewhat T-shape so that it will both ride on the outer peripheries of the plates 15 and lie between the same to provide a satisfactory seal.

Each of the constructions above described has a hanger element projecting from the periphery of the carrier, and the wall or a support thereon has a hanger element shaped to cooperate with the carrier element whereby the carrier may be mounted on the wall in a close side by side arrangement. Also horizontal rows of such carriers may be mounted in a close vertical spacing within the cabinet.

It will now be appreciated that various modifications may be made in this construction within the above specified requirements. Hence, the above disclosure is to be interpreted as setting forth preferred embodiments of the invention and not as imposing limitations on the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A reeled tape file comprising a cabinet having vertical walls, hanger members carried by said walls, a set of disk shaped reeled tape carriers, each having a hanger part adjacent to its periphery, means on said part for interlocking with said hanger member so as to suspend the carrier vertically therefrom, said members being in such arrangement that a plurality of carriers may be remov-' ably mounted side by side in a close spacing on the various supports and removed by alifting motion.

2. A reeled tape file comprising a cabinet having vertical walls, a set of vertically spaced, horizontal hanger bars mounted on said walls, each bar being provided with a set of hanger slots in a horizontal spacing, a set of substantially disk shaped reeled tape carriers, each of which has a peripherally projecting hanger lug provided with an end part arranged to be inserted into'and removably interlock with the sides of one of said slots, said hanger lug and the slots on said bars being so arranged that the carriers may be suspended vertically on the bars in a close lateral spacing and each removable by a slight lifting motion.

3. A reeled tape file according to claim 2 in which said bars and their slots are so arranged that the carriers are suspended from the bars and have a lateral bearing contact with a cabinet wall.

4. A reeled tape file according to claim 2 in which the tape carriers are reels on which tape is wound and each of which has a central recess on each side and in which the carrier hanger member is a substantially U- shaped clip having its arms grippingly engaging said recesses and positioning the clip, said clip having said lug projecting radially of the reel which interlocks removably with a hanger slot. 7

5. A reeled tape file according to claim 1 in which each hanger part includes a strip surrounding the carrier periphery, said hanger part being secured to and projecting radially from said strip.

6. A reeled tape file according to claim 1 in which the carrier is a two-part casing having side disks and peripherally telescoping fianges, one of which serves as a peripheral strip and wherein the hanger part extends radially outwardly from the casing.

7. A reeled tape file according to claim 6 in which the hanger part is a substantially U-shaped clip having a lug projecting laterally therefrom, said clip being shaped for interlocking with the outer one of said telescoping flanges with the lug projecting radially of the carrier when operatively mounted thereon.

8. A reeled tape file according to claim 5 in which the peripheral strip is separate from the carrier and the hanger part is an arcuate strip having a laterally projecting locking lug and slots through which the peripheral strip is threaded.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,097,755 5/ 1914 Goldsmith 21189 1,140,940 5/1915 Bales 248-243 2,165,122 7/1939 Ashbery 31220 2,708,088 5/1955 Steinke 248223 2,988,017 6/1961 Stough 105369 FOREIGN PATENTS 857,891 1/ 196 1 Great Britain.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

' K. I. WINGERT, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A REELED TAPE FILE COMPRISING A CABINET HAVING VERTICAL WALLS, HANGER MEMBERS CARRIED BY SAID WALLS, A SET OF DISK SHAPED REELED TAPE CARRIERS, EACH HAVING A HANGER PART ADJACENT TO ITS PERIPHERY, MEANS ON SAID PART FOR INTERLOCKING WITH SAID HANGER MEMBER SO AS TO SUSPEND THE CARRIER VERTICALLY THEREFROM, SAID MEMBERS BEING IN SUCH ARRANGEMENT THAT A PLURALITY OF CARRIERS MAY BE REMOV- 